Fall Fruit Walnut Crisp

Guess what!? I'm back. I took a few days off to do some things. Secret things. Wouldn't you like to know? (You wouldn't. I'm not that cool.) I wasn't even gone that long. I just wanted to be dramatic about it and link to that Eminem video for mah girl Kerry (shout out!!!).

But anyway, I'm back and I've got more Fall stuff to make you roll your eyes. Apples! Pears! Cranberries! Walnuts! and BUTTER! (Yea, butter is totally a Fall staple. So is cheese. And squash.)

If anyone read my pumpkin pie with dark chocolate ganache recipe and still thinks they can't make pie crust despite my pleading and disco inspired persuasion, a crisp is a great way to fake it. I actually like crisps more than pies anyway. Brown sugar and butter bubble down from the crust and form a delicious sauce with the fruit in the bottom of the baking dish. The topping is sweet and crunchy and just the right amount pastry-y (you know what I'm talking about). You probably can't frost them though (or maybe you can - I'll work on that).

Then, you can get really lazy with me and not even peel your fruit. Well, some call this lazy, I think it makes it prettier. (Ok, it started as laziness, but I like the way it looks.)

Also, who knew there were this many different types of baked fruit desserts? I can't wait to make a grunt. Uuhhh. Bonus points if you know the difference between a betty and a cobbler without looking!

Soundtrack: The Non-Commissioned Officers (Myspace link)

Fall Fruit Walnut Crisp

3/4 c ap flour

3/4 c brown sugar

1 1/4 tsp cinnamon 

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 c chopped walnuts

1 stick (1/2 c) butter

2 medium Bartlett pears

1 medium Granny Smith apple

1 medium Gala apple

1/4 c craisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Add to the bowl of a food processor the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt and walnuts and pulse to combine. Cut butter into 8 pats and drop into the bowl. Pulse until just combined, being careful not to over-process. (Alternately, combine in a medium bowl and cut butter in using a pastry cutter or 2 knives. The knives thing is a PITA, trust me. It totally can be done, but you should get a food processor.) The mixture should look like coarse breadcrumbs. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Grease an 8x8 cake pan or baking dish. Core the apples and pears. Cut into cubes, but do not peel. Add to baking dish with craisins, evenly interspersing the fruit around the dish.

Top the fruit with the dough, adding in clumps. It should form an even crust once patted together.

Bake dish for 45-50 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Serve warm and top with whipped cream (or even better, ice cream! I'd suggest vanilla, but Adam wanted chocolate.). 

Please, note the small white dog in the bottom right corner of
this photo, scavenging off the ground

Beautiful Fall colors!

Blueberry-Lemon Scones with Lavender Honey

On a scale from 1-cool, how cool is it if I stay in on a Friday night to bake scones? I mean, if nothing else I should at least get points for baking something so classy as a scone. And for putting zest in them. And lavender honey! Right on guys, I think it's pretty cool. 

Blueberry Blood

I should also mention that all the while I was baking these scones, my poor roommate was scrubbing the inside of our refrigerator, trying to erase the smell of rotting something-or-other that had been festering all week. It had actually moved to the freezer by this point and just was not backing down. Headfirst into rancid yuckiness all night long. On this scale from 1-cool though, he's beating me. Because I sure as shit didn't want to deal with it. Helllloooo ladies, this one is single and ready to mingle. And IT CLEANS! He's a keeper for sure. (Someone please take him off my hands!... juuuust kidding.)

Not a bad site, huh ladies?

Anyway, Adam and I have been together.. hmm..  I guess you could say a few years now. We aren't really sure exactly how long. We've known each other for 6 at least. And I've been trying to convince him to go on a picnic with me ever since. He finally agreed and OMG I AM SO EXCITED!  Picnics rule. I think it means finals week has officially burnt out his brain, but it's working to my advantage so it's all good. I hope I don't sound too much like Barefoot Contessa with this scenario, because I'm really not much a fan of all of the hokey stories on that cooking show. In fact the name Jeffrey makes me shudder. I'm just foreshadowing and it's totally going to work in your favor! Menu to drool over coming soon to a computer near you.

I figured scones would be a fun thing to bring along. I've also been dreaming about using the lavender honey that I made a couple weeks ago. So again, win-win. 

One of my favorite things about having a food processor is the ease at which I can make pastries. The thing cuts butter into flour like, well, butter.  If you don't have one, obviously you could make this the old fashioned way with a pastry cutter or two knives, but I really recommend investing in a food processor. Plus, you can make hummus and Pesto and all sorts of other delicious things. (I can make great product pitches if anyone wants to sponsor me... just sayin'.)

These scones have a great texture. Scones are baked from dough and more like a sweet biscuit than a muffin. These are pretty light and moist. The blueberry flavor is the most prominent, with a hint of lemon and then lavender on the end. Perfect for brunch or 12 AM on Friday night. Just be careful if you eat them warm, that night time snack lead to a blueberry massacre all. over. my. fingers. In a good way.

Soundtrack: Disco Deviance

Blueberry-Lemon Scones with Lavender Honey

Makes 8 (small) scones

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled
2 tbsp lavender honey (you can buy it or it can be made from simmering honey with lavender flowers for 30 minutes)
1/2 c. plain greek yogurt

1 tbsp lemon zest

1/4 c. fresh blueberries, frozen

Preheat the oven to 425 (That's right, 425).

Put the flour, baking powder, and salt into a food processor. Cut the butter into tablespoon sized pieces and add to the processor. Pulse (about 10 times at 30 seconds each) until butter is cut into the flour. The mixture will resemble course cornmeal when it is ready. (This can also be done by hand!)

Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and add the honey, yogurt, and zest. Cream with a fork until a moist dough is formed, then mix in the blueberries in as few strokes as possible. (Working the dough too much can result in a dense pastry.)

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a circle, about 8' in diameter. Cut the  dough (pizza-style!) into eighths. Place the triangles on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 13-15 mins, until golden brown.

Sweet measuring cups, man

Pads of butter.. Pats of butter?

Is it flour and butter? Or cornmeal? Who knows!

Yellow anyone?

D'oh!

A pizza scone

Delicious blueberry, everywhere!